Secondary beverage carton with handholes

ABSTRACT

A secondary beverage carton which has two opposing non-rectangular, preferably triangular, side walls. The carton has at least one coincident acute angle. The side walls are connected by end walls. Preferably one end wall has a can access panel which is severable to provide an opening for the cans.

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/739,184 filed Dec. 19, 2003.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to itsuse in packaging a beverage and, in particular, beer. However, itsgeneral applicability for other articles are items which are containedin multi-packs but are used individually will be apparent.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It has now be found that a secondary carton for containing a pluralityof primary containers such as beverage filled cans, which secondarycarton has two opposing non-rectangular side walls having at least onecoincident acute angle and connected by end walls has an irregular shapewhich not only provides increased consumer visibility but alsoflexibility as to product configurations. Furthermore, in a closedcarton where the side walls have at least one acute angle, the junctureor join of the associated base or bottom wall and end wall which connectthe two side walls result in the end wall being inclined to thevertical. Providing an access port or opening in said end wall at, orpreferably slightly spaced from, the join thereof with the bottom wallcreates a can dispensing means through which cartons may be convenientlyaccessed and removed without requiring deformation of the carton sidewalls to provide part of the opening. Because of inclined nature of theend wall, the can or the like article in the carton adjacent that wallupon said opening being formed becomes sufficiently exposed to be easilygrasped and removed.

The carton can have opposing walls of various shapes e.g. trapezoid,such as a triangle having its upper part cut off by a line parallel tothe base or a rectangle where one pair of adjacent right angles isreplaced by an acute angle and an obtuse angle pair.

The angle between the end wall and its associated bottom wall can varyand depends on various factors including the size and shape of thearticles to be enclosed in the carton and the configuration they are toassume in the carton. It is preferred however that the carton has twoopposing side walls which are each triangular and that these are joinedtogether by three end walls, one of which constitutes a base wall.Further, it is especially preferred that the triangles are isosceles orequilateral, the latter having three acute angles of 60° each at the twoend wall-to-bottom wall and are end wall to end wall joins. For example,in the specific case of a triangular carton of the present inventionwhich is to enclose 15-355 ml cans of beer, a pyramidal formation i.e.having rows of 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 cans, with 5 being at the base, wouldresult in a carton having three angles of 60° each, each side wall beingan equilateral triangle having sides of about 35 cm. However, similarcartons to enclose more or less of the cans may need to be dimensionedaccordingly and present several options. For example, a triangularcarton for containing say nine such cans in a single 4, 3, 2 formationcould have a base of about 38 cm; and end wall of about 32 cm and awidth of about 26 cm (i.e. one can width). This carton would leave avolume in the top apex of the carton free to locate a premium or thelike. In this case, it may be preferable to locate an inner “wall”between the opposing end walls parallel to the base wall, above andadjacent the top two cans.

Alternatively, the top apex part of the carton can be eliminated,replaced by a top wall parallel to the base wall of length equal toabout two can diameters. In other words, the carton would then have aside wall the shape of a trapezium.

A port or opening can be located in an end wall preferably a shortdistance from the join of the end wall and the bottom wall so as toleave a small horizontal strip of board material extending across thewidth of the end wall. A can or like article at the port is thenprevented from simply rolling out of the carton by that strip but isreadily available due to the angled end wall to be grasped and removedby being lifted out. In view of the stacking arrangement of the cans andthe pressure extended by the upper layers thereof, removal of one canautomatically results in its place being taken by another until thereare only five left in a single row and a slight lift of the carton fromback to front would result in those being presented to the user one at atime.

Initially, the port or opening is sealed by a can access panel which isadapted to be readily severed to create the opening and provide accessto the enclosed cartons. Preferably, the panel is not fully severed butremains hingedly attached so as to be able to re-seal the opening ifdesired. This would, for example, assist in retaining the beverage inthe cans remaining in the carton cool if the carton is not maintained ina fridge or similar cool environment.

In a further embodiment, the carton of the invention is adapted toaccommodate two “banks” of stacked cans with an end of each can in onebank being located adjacent an end of a can in the adjacent bank. Theinterior of the carton may be constituted as a single compartment or maybe divided into two by way of partition means such as a dividing wall.In a further embodiment, such a two-compartment carton is adapted to beseverable into two individual cartons. Each of the two backs may haveits own can access port, especially when the basic carton is severableinto two individual cartons. The cartons of the present invention may beproduced from a one-piece blank of paperboard, preferably corrugatedboard for strength. Upon being erected, the various walls and the likeof the blank may be secured in position using adhesives. However, it maybe preferably because of the irregular shapes of the cartons to have thecarton secured in its erected condition via mechanical locking meanssuch as a series of tab and slot locking combinations, or a combinationwhereby the carton is partially pre-glued to form a blank which is setup, filled with cans and mechanically locked.

It is also preferred to have the base or bottom wall constructed ofmultiple plies of material, again to provide additional strength andensure structural rigidity and prevent any tendency for the carton baseto bow despite the weight of the contents. A modification of the basicblank of the present invention therefore involves providing mechanicallocking means to secure the multiply ply base together, these meanscomprising least one rotatable tab formed in the outermost ply of thebase and adapted to extend through at least the adjacent ply and bendaround so as to lie thereon and be covered by one more ply. Essentially,this creates a “sandwich” with the tab grasped between the outer and aninner ply of the carton base and held in place by the weight of thecarton contents lying on the innermost ply of the base.

Another form of mechanical lock may be used especially to securenon-base side and end walls together, this comprising a tab adapted toenter an associated slot such that when the carton is being carried inthe usual manner, a force is extended between an edge of said tap and anedge of its associated slot thereby providing a strong frictionalengagement there-between. The latter is enhanced by further providingsaid slot of an end which the tab engages with a further slot extendingat an angle to said first slot thus presenting a V-shape in the boardfor the edge of the tab to engage.

As the container of the present invention will in most circumstances, betransported in bulk using a standard palleting system, the size of thepallet relative to the size and shape of the carton is of importance ifoptimum transporting efficiency is to be achieved. A standard Canadianbrewery pallet measures 48″×40″ (122 cm×100 cm) and consequently optimumutilization of the pallet area would be achieved if the carton size andshape is such that if a plurality of the cartons when assembled in arectangular configuration in a layer would, if possible, approximate thearea of the pallet. In the carton embodiment described above, that is, acarton to enclose 15 355 ml standard beer cans, which carton has a baseof about 30 cm and a height of about 20 cm, a layer of cartonscomprising 42 cartons would form a block about 120 cm by 120 cm whichindicates excellent utilization of pallet space. Each pallet wouldsupport between 9 and 11 such layers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be further described but not limited byreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paperboard blank adapted to be formed into acarton in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a modified embodiment of the blank of FIG. 1 having additionalmechanical locking means;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a fully erected carton of the presentinvention formed from the blank of FIG. 1 with its can access panel inan open condition showing the can access opening; NOTE: In the followingFIGS, the access panel is in a closed condition;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the carton of FIG. 3 with itssecond side wall rotated away from the first side wall to reveal a fullcomplement of cans;

FIG. 5 is one side elevational view of the erected carton of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the erected carton of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the erected carton of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is one end elevational view of the erected carton of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of an erected carton formed from the blankof FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a part cross-sectional view taken along the line Y-Y in FIG.9;

FIG. 11 is a detail of the carton dispensing structure of the carton ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 12 is an angled perspective of a further carton embodiment of thepresent invention wherein the carton interior being divided into twoadjacent chambers each adapted to enclose one bank of fifteen cans;

FIG. 13 is a blank for forming the carton of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a blank for forming the carton of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a side elevation of a carton similar to that of FIG. 12 butwherein the can access doors are provided with extension flaps;

FIG. 16 is an angled perspective diagrammatic view of a furtherembodiment of a carton of the present invention, the carton havingtrapezium side walls and an interior divided into two chambers by apartition;

FIG. 17 is a cross-section along with the X-X in FIG. 16 showing one ofthe two banks of nine cans enclosed within the carton.

For simplicity, similar elements in the various FIGS. Are referred to bythe same number. With reference to FIG. 1, this shows a carton blank,generally designated 10, which includes a first side wall 12 which takesthe form of an equilateral triangle. Attached to side wall 12 via hingelines, 13, 14 and 15 respectively are rectangular end walls 16, 17 and18. End wall 17 has a potential handhole 21 defined on three sides bylines of perforations 22 and on the fourth by score or hinge line 23 andinitially sealed by flap 29. A further hinge line 24 extends laterallyacross the flap 29. End wall 17 is extended by a first tuck flap 20attached thereto via hinge or fold 19. Extending longitudinally alongthe other edge of panel 17 is hinge line 25 attached to which is arectangular panel 26, having a length slightly less than that of endwall 17 and a cutout 27 corresponding to the size and shape of handhole21. Also provided are two score lines 28, each of which, extends fromhinge line 25 to the lateral outer edge 30 of panel 26. Panel 26 is alsoprovided with a locking tab 31 defined by cut line 32 and hinge line 33which tab actually bridges end wall 17 and panel 26, tab 31 also havinga fold line 34 which, essentially, is a part of hinge line 25.

A second and approximately similar end wall structure extends from hingeline 13 of side wall 12, the structure comprising end wall 16, attachedthereto by hinge line 35 is panel 36 which has two angled score lines37. Panel 36 has a length slightly less than that of end wall 16. Tab38, bridges end wall 16 and panel 36 defined by cut line 40 and hingeline 41 has a centre hinge line 42.

End wall 18, which forms part of the multiple ply base or bottom wall ofthe erected carton, is extended longitudinally by a first tuck flap 43foldable along hinge or fold line 44 and a second tuck flap 45 foldablealong hinge line 46. Tuck flap 43 is provided with a cutout of the samesize and shape as handhole 21. End wall 18 is provided with a cartondispensing structure comprising an access panel 47 defined by severablelines of perforations or weakness 48, 49 and 50, and score or hinge line51. Extending laterally from each perforated line 48 and 49 of accesspanel 47 and connected thereto via hinge or score lines 52 and 53 arerespectively, push tabs 54 and 55. A threshold or can retention panel 39extends the width of flap 45 and between hinge lines 46 and 51.

A second side wall 60, of the same size and shape as the first side wall12, is attached via hinge line 61 to the longitudinal edge of end wall18. A further panel 62 is attached to a side of second side wall 60 viahinge line 59, this panel being generally rectangular but with itsshorter ends 63 and 64 being angled to its longitudinal axis and roundedat the corners 65 and 66. Located approximately midway along hinge line59 is a lock slot 58. Attached to the remaining edge of second side wall60 is panel 67 of similar shape and dimensions as panel 62 but which, inaddition, is provided with a cut-out 68 defined by cut line 69 the shapebeing part of the shape of handhole 21. It is also provided withcorresponding locking slot 70. The blank is made of a paperboard orsimilar material especially a corrugated board for increased strength.

Turning to the remaining drawings, and not all elements are shown in allthe FIGS., there is shown an erected carton, generally designated 11, ofthe present invention. This comprises two triangular shaped side walls12 and 60 connected by end walls 16, 17 and 18. It should be noted thatend wall 16 is part of the base 19 of the container which comprisesmultiple plies or layers of paperboard.

Turning to FIG. 2, this shows a modification of the blank shown in FIG.1 wherein locking slot 69 is provided with a small lateral extension 80.In addition, panel 36 is provided with a base locking tab 81 defined onthree sides by perforated line 82 and on the fourth by hinge line 83. Afurther and double hinge line 84 is provided parallel to and spaced fromfirst hinge line 83. End wall 16 and first tuck flap 20 are eachprovided with a cut-out 85 equal in size and shape to locking tab 82,such that upon erection of the carton the locking tab 81 and the twocut-outs 85 coincide and tab 81, when folded about hinge line 83 canpass through both cut-outs 85 and further, subsequent to folding aboutdouble hinge line 84 the free section 86 of locking tab 81 takes up aposition parallel to panel 36 and overlying an inner surface of tuckflap 20, as is shown in detail in FIG. 10. In FIG. 3 and FIG. 11, canaccess panel 47 is shown in an open position thereby providing access tocans in the secondary carton 11. Also partly shown in FIG. 3, is lockingtab 38 which extends through slot 58, push tabs 54 and 55 partiallyseparated or severed from their associated end walls 60 and 12 and panel36 which forms part of carton base 19.

In FIG. 4, there is shown the carton of FIG. 3, but with side wall 12rotated away and displaying the carton contents—in this case 15-355 mlcans of beer. It should be noted that push tab 55 is positioned adjacenta void or gap 74 between adjacent cans 75 and 76. Consequently, whenside wall 62 has been rotated around hinge line 15 toward the reader toclose the carton, push tab 55 and its counterpart 54 will be paralleland opposing when looked through the void 74 between adjacent cans 75and 76. It should also be noted that the small can retention panelsection 39 of end wall 18 remains intact—i.e. the hinge lines 46, 61, 51and 15 defining threshold section 39 are not perforated or otherwiseweakened.

Turning to FIG. 5, this side elevation shows side wall 60 and,generally, the position of the locking or securing tabs when in positionsealing the carton 11. In detail, side locking tab 31 and base lockingtab 38 (both shown in phantom) are positioned through their associatedslots 69 and 58 respectively and lie against the inside surface of sidewall 12 and 60. Tuck flap 43 is shown folded about hinge line 44 to liebetween a surface of panel 26 (not shown—it extends from hinge or fold25) and a surface of panel 67 with handhole 21 and cut-outs 29 and 68coinciding. A first tuck flap 20 is shown folded along hinge or fold 19so as to lie along a surface of panel 26 (not shown in this FIG. sinceit extends from hinge or fold 35) and between that surface and a surfaceof panel 62. Second tuck flap 45 is shown folded along hinge or fold 46so as to line along and between a surface of panel 26 (not shown in thisFIG. since it extends from hinge or fold 35) and a surface of panel 62.

Turning to the top plan view shown in the FIG. 6, end wall 17 haspotential handhole 21 and part of locking tab 31, the other part ofwhich has been folded about hinge line 34 and passed through slot 70 inpanel 67. The visible edge 70 of side wall 60 is also shown as is fold44 and end wall 18. Also shown are perforated lines of weakness 48, 49and 50 and hinge line 51, which define access panel 47. Note that anopening threshold panel 39 defined by hinge lines 15, 61, 51 and 46extends across the full width of end wall 18 remains integral therewith.

Turning to FIG. 7, this shows end wall 16 which is the lowermost ply ofthe carton base and edge 57 of side wall 60 which is a wall of slot 58.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the erected carton 11 showing end wall 17with potential handhole 21, part of locking tab 31 which remains in theplane of end wall 17, this being defined by cuts 32, the remainder oftab 31 being engaged in slot 70 in panel 67. Also shown is an edge 56 ofside wall 12 which edge forms a wall of slot 69. The structure of partof the multiple ply base 19 of carton 11 is shown and comprises an edge71 of end wall 16; an edge 72 of panel 36, which panels are connected byjoin 35 and edge 73 (shown in phantom) of tab 20.

FIG. 11 is a detail side perspective view of the dispensing structure ofthe present invention. The lines of weakness 48, 49 and 50 partiallydefining access panel 47 have been severed from the associated sidewalls 12 and 60 and end wall 18 and panel 47 has been rotated to an opencondition revealing enclosed cans of beer 75 and 76. In FIG. 10 which isa part section through a carton erected from the blank of FIG. 2 andtaken along the line Y-Y in FIG. 9 and shows the bottom corner of thecarton not involved in the dispensing feature is made up of end wall 17,with its associated tuck flap 20 folded about hinge line 19 so as to liebetween the multiple ply combination of end wall 16 and panel 36 foldedabout hinge 35 and panel 62. The tab 81 is shown with perforated line 82severed and the tab 81 rotated firstly about hinge line 83 and thenhinge line 84 so that the free section 86 of tab 81 lies in a lockedposition parallel to the multiple ply combination of tuck flap 20, endwall 16 and panel 36 making up the carton base. A similar locktab/cut-out arrangement is provided at the other end section of end wall16, panel 36 and in this instance, tuck tab 45.

Also shown are several cans of beer 87 in a stacked or layered positionthey adopt when in the carton. It can be seen that any tendency of thebase to bow or sag under the weight of the contents is additionallyresisted by this locking feature. This is especially so since the base19 is anchored along one full side, namely via hinge 13, and at threelongitudinally spaced locations, namely via locking tab 40 and the twolocking features along the other longitudinal base edge.

Turning to FIG. 12, this shows a triangular carton adapted to containtwo rows or banks each comprising nine (9) cans in a 4, 3, 2configuration. One end wall 17 contains a handhole 21. It should benoted that with the desired configuration, the volume at the apex isactually free or empty providing a space to locate a premium such as abaseball or a phone. In this case, an inner wall made also of board isarranged to extend between the end wall 17 and opposing end wall 18above the two-can row of cans in the can banks. Each bank of cans has anassociated access port or opening shown closed by panel 47—refer to FIG.13. These are each defined by lines of perforation 49, 50, 51, 54 and 56and can be fully separated from the remainder of the end wall 18 inwhich they are formed. Another embodiment of this carton, shown in FIG.15 has a different opening design, the cover 47 comprising not only anend wall portion similar to that shown in FIG. 13, but also part of aside wall 12 which is defined by a line of perforations 55. The carton11 shown in FIG. 12 is assembled from the blank 10 shown in FIG. 14. Theblank is virtually identical to that of FIG. 1 and it is numbered in asimilar manner. Changes include:

-   (a) There are two rectangular access panels 47 separated by line of    weakness 56; and-   (b) The size of the various walls are increased, relative to those    shown in FIG. 1, to provide the volume for the double bank of cans.

Turning to FIGS. 16 and 17, these illustrate a further embodiment of theinvention wherein the carton 11 has a trapezium shape and accommodatestwo adjacent banks of cans each can lying on its side as previouslydescribed. The manner the cans stack in the carton 11 is shown in FIG.17, and there are two banks of nine cans so that the carton is actuallyan 18-pack. Shown in phantom in FIG. 16 is partition 80 which consistsof a sheet of paperboard. The remaining features of the carton aresimilar to those as described above for the triangular embodiments andhence it is felt there is not need to describe them further here.

The blank of FIG. 1 is erected to form the carton of FIG. 3 as follows:the perforations 32 and 40 are severed and locking tabs 31 and 41 are,respectively, displaced downwardly out of the plane of panel/end wallcombinations 36-16 and 26-17 respectively tuck tabs 43 and 45 arerotated toward the reader about hinge lines 44 and 46 respectively andtab 20 about hinge line 19. Rotation of end walls 16, 17 and 18 abouttheir respective hinge lines 13, 14 and 15 forms a triangular “tray”wherein tuck tab 45 and tab 20 overly the inner surface of end wall 16and tuck tab 43 overlies the inner surface of end wall 17 with cut-out47 coincident with potential handhole 21. Panel 26 is then rotatedaround hinge 25 to overlie the inner surface of end wall 17 and tuck tab43 therebetween. Panel 36 is then rotated about hinge line 35 so as tooverlie the inner surface of end wall 16 thus trapping tuck tab 45 andtab 20 therebetween. It will be appreciated that the score or hingelines 28 and 37 of panels 26 and 36 respectively allow the cornerportions of those panels to deform during this action to slide past theangled end wall to which the associated panel is affixed. For example,rotation of panel 26 about hinge line 25 causes hinge lines 28 to comeinto play allowing the triangular end sections of panel 26 to rotatepartially to allow the remainder of panel 26 to complete the rotationand lie against the inside surface of end wall 17. The said cornersections then return to their original position in the same plane as theremainder of panel 26 and help to lock or jam the panel in place.Formation of the carton has now progressed to that shown in FIG. 4—butwithout the complement of cans. These, in fact, are now insertedmanually until a full complement of 15 has been inserted. It should benoted that with the desired number of standard 355 ml cans, and in thepyramidal layered configuration, the carton has an equilateral shapehaving three equal sides of about 40 cm a side. To complete assembly ofthe closed carton second end wall 60 is then rotated about hinge 18 and,following rotation of panel 62 about hinge 59 and panel 67 about hinge68, those two panels are inserted between the side of the cans andassociated panels 36 and 26 at which point, the two side panels 12 and16 are parallel. To lock the carton, locking tabs 31 and 41 are eachbent along their associated central hinge line 34 and 42 and the outersection of each tab inserted through the associated locking slot 70 and58 respectively. Erection of the fully closed carton containing a fullcomplement of 15 cans is now complete. To activate or create thehandhole, it is only necessary to sever line of perforations 22, forcewith the hand the panel 29 through the underlying cut-outs 27, 47 and 67whereupon, the lower i.e. free section of panel 29 rotates about hinge24 to provide a flat “cushioned” holding surface.

To open the carton and access the cans, the carton is sat on its base 19and each of the push tabs 54 and 55 are pushed into the carton 11. Itwill be noted—refer to FIG. 4—that these tabs are positioned so thatthey lie opposite the void 74 existing between the two cans located inthe carton immediately behind access panel. Consequently, there isnothing to hinder the severing of the lines of perforation defining thetabs and rotating same into the carton. It is then a simple matter bypulling on the access panel 47 to sever the remainder of theperforations 49 and 50 defining the access panel 47 and lifting thelatte, rotating same about hinge line 57 to take up the position shownin FIGS. 3 and 11. The lowermost can, under the influence of the cans inthe upper layers, immediately moves sidewards until it is stopped bythreshold panel 39. As provided by the present invention, the accessopening is angled since it is located in side wall 18 which is affixedto bottom 19 at an angle of 60°. This allows can 76 to move about 2 cminto the opening which allows it to be readily and conveniently removedby hand. However, ease of can removal can be further enhanced if thecover 47 has a component from a side wall such as 79 shown in FIG. 15.It should also be noted that the retention panel 39 prevents the nextcan which replaces 76 from exiting the carton without assistance. Whenthe desired cans have been removed, access panel 47 can be rotated toits original condition to close the opening and be frictionally held inplace.

In a similar fashion to that described above, the carton of FIGS. 12 and15 are formed from the blank shown in FIG. 14. The carton of FIG. 15 isformed from the blank of FIG. 14 but with minor changes, as shown inFIG. 15, to the can access opening. The carton shown in FIGS. 16 and 17is formed from a blank similar to that shown in FIG. 14 but with obviouschanges to the portions of the end and side walls so that the top 81 isformed upon carton erection.

The operating features of this carton are activated in a similar mannerto that described above for the triangular embodiments of the invention.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to itsuse in packaging a beverage and, in particular, beer. However, itsgeneral applicability for other articles are items which are containedin multi-packs but are used individually will be apparent.

1) A carton for containing a plurality of similar articles, said cartonhaving two opposing non-rectangular side walls having at least onecoincident acute angle and connected by end walls, wherein at least oneof said end walls contain a corresponding handhole. 2) A cartonaccording to claim 1, wherein said non-rectangular side walls aretriangular in shape. 3) A carton according to claim 2, wherein saidhandhole is located proximal to an end of said end wall, adjacent anapex of said triangular side wall.